He sat a moment with the key in his hand, not from hesitation, only from the habit of arriving fully in a space before asking it to move. The dashboard woke when he started the engine, pale instruments, a soft hum came with no growl.
The Audi's voice was a low, even hum, almost modest. He adjusted the mirror and the seatbelt found its latch.
Alone, the tightness he carried in other people's rooms eased a fraction. Not relief exactly. Lightness, the small kind that came with a moment alone and a clear next step. Pick up his sister. Velaris. Mia and her mother. One night. The route was simple. The evening had edges again.
A residual awareness of the landing remained, the red of Camilla's eyes, the bitten lip he was not supposed to have seen, the formal promise of cultivation resources hanging in the air like an unpaid invoice. He set it aside the way he set aside weather he could not change. The road asked for his hands.
